Delphi Lodge at 9 to 1 may not have been everyone's idea of the Power Gold Cup winner but it was the Tom Taaffe-trained grey that worked the oracle in yesterday's prestigious novice event at Fairyhouse.
Taaffe is a man well qualified to know about the race's prestige. His father, Pat, won it as a jockey on subsequent Gold Cup winners Arkle (1963) and Fort Leney (1964), as well as Doone Valley (1965), and also as a trainer with Captain Christy (1974)
Tom Taaffe didn't win the Power Gold Cup during his own illustrious riding career but in his fourth year as a trainer, this was his most significant winner.
"There's no reason why he won't stay three miles and we might find out in the Heineken at Punchestown," Taaffe said. The top flight Boss Doyle is set to run in that too but Delphi Lodge's jockey Tom Treacy commented: "This horse stays all day, has buckets of speed and could be a super three mile horse."
Considering Delphi Lodge's undistinguished Arkle run at Cheltenham, punters sided with the Arkle runner-up Hill Society, the front-running Mulkev Prince and Guest Performance.
However, Hill Society was under pressure down the back, finished only sixth and was afterwards found to have a colic. Mulkev Prince surrendered the lead five out to Tempo and faded to last having burst a blood vessel while Guest Performance fell three out. Having escaped that trouble, Delphi Lodge stalked Tempo to the last and then went clear.
"He has flattered in the past but he put his head down today. He made a mistake at the first at Cheltenham and minded himself afterwards so we planned to go wide and creep around today," smiled Taaffe who trains a string of 50 at Straffan, Co Kildare.
Punters got it right in the £50,000 Goffs Land Rover Bumper as the joint favourites Hiwillie and Biliverdin fought out a thrilling finish with the latter just squeezing home by the minimum margin under Philip Fenton.
Bought as a yearling for £6,800 from Godolphin by the Coolmore stallion master Eamon Phelan, who also bred Jodami, Biliverdin ran a fine debut at Gowran following which Phelan turned down several substantial offers.
Biliverdin is still for sale but trainer Sheena Collins, daughter of Curragh handler Con, has a high opinion of him and confessed to her father by phone in the enclosure that she couldn't watch the close finish. "I'm so pleased for everyone at home. It had been looking bleak since our last winner in September," she added.
The Gold Label point-to-point final was just as fascinating. Aidan O'Brien's Radiaton looked to be holding stable-mate The Dell only for his saddle to slip in the final furlong. That looked to leave the race at the mercy of The Dell but the 14 to 1 shot Derrymore Mist, who paid almost 40 to 1 on the Tote, sprouted wings in the last 100 yards to beat him by a length.
Derrymore Mist was a fairytale first winner for Ballymore Eustace permit holder Marian Murphy who trains just three horses.
